LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

It's been a while since I've checked in on this forum. Since then, I have seen two diffusers online that I wonder about for macro photography. One is the AK diffuser, and the other using a mag bounce by magmod. Any opinions on these? Thanks!

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

And you references or photos of these diffusers .... ??

LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

Here are images of the Mag Bounce and AK Diffuser

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I have an AK diffuser and I enjoy using it and the look that it produces. It sells for $100. I've made several diffusers, one that works on par with the AK and others like the one that I made from a large cottage cheese container.

I cut a rectangular hole in the bottom to fit snugly over the speedlight flash and lined the inside of the container with aluminum foil. I cut all of the center out of the lid leaving only a slight ring on the rim. I used a piece of white no-rip cloth (like that of a windbreaker jacket) on the end to diffuse the light.

The result is a large softbox-style flash diffuser. It's hard to beat at near-zero cost and the images are as good as with my AK diffuser.

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LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

Thank you so much for this information! A couple questions . . .

Both images look DIY. Are they just two different containers/diffusers?
What does lining the inside with tinfoil do?
It looks like you have some kind of a mount that attaches to the bottom of the flash to enable it to tilt forward. What is that?

Thanks so much for this great assist!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

It's a pleasure to share what I do and how I do it. Both pictures are the same diffuser. I painted it black after experimenting with it to match the camera to give it more of a professional look.

The tinfoil serves two purposes. One is that it keeps the printing on the cottage cheese container from affecting the color of the flash even though the container is white inside. Another is that it helps reflect the flash to utilize a faster flash duration. By the way, the inner surface of several of the AK-style diffusers is foil-lined.

One of the things I like about it is that it is an easy on, easy off. No Velcro straps to contend with (cut the hole a bit smaller than the flash head that it slips over). Now, I have the AK diffuser and I do like it although they are a bit clunky on the camera and tend to get in the way of other plants or limbs at times.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Liam, here are a few shots that were taken using the cottage cheese container diffuser to show the type of lighting it produces. The camera was a Nikon Z6 with a Nikon SB800 speedlight. I typically shoot macro at f/11, 1/200th, and a flash duration of 1/16th.

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LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

My gosh, these are wonderful! The light is excellent and pleasing. Thanks so much for sharing all this. Nothing better in life than a natural teacher with a generous spirit.

If I may re-ask that third question. It appears there is a mount under your flash enabling it tilt forward. What is that?

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Liam, it is a device that attaches to the camera hot shoe that tilts the flash. That's what it does well. What it does not do is communicate with the functions of the camera other than to send the signal to flash so the flash must be operated in the manual mode which I use anyway.

If you want to give this type of diffuser a try, here's what I would do. Mount your flash on the camera and hold the back of the container against the flash head. Move it up and down to find the height that puts it closest to the lens and place a mark at the top of the flash head on the container for reference.

Take the flash off the camera and hold the head against the bottom of the container where you placed the mark. Now mark around the flash head. It's easier to do this than being on the camera. Cut inside the outline drawn about a 1/8 to 1/4 inch smaller than the outline. This will let the container fit snugly on the flash head.

IF...you want to have some of the soft light splash down in front of the lens, take a piece of cardboard from something like a cereal box and make a "bill" like that of a baseball cap and stick aluminum foil on it to reflect the flash downward and outward. This is what that looks like.

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LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

Is the device that attaches to the hot shoe DIY or commercially available? If the latter, is there a piece you recommend?

Thanks for all the additional information. You have got me excited about macro over here!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Liam, it is a manufactured item that I acquired on eBay. It needed a small flash sync cable to send the signal to flash from the bottom part attached to the hotshoe to the upper part that attaches to the flash. All I know about it is that it was made in Germany. Keep in mind, it only works in a manual flash mode.

HOWEVER, this is a better solution shown in this article.

https://digital-photography-school.com/flash-bracket-uses-tips/

Here's the link to this off-camera tilting flash bracket which is quite nifty shown in that article.

https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Brackets-RF-PRO-Bracket-Threaded/dp/B00BCE4N42/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1522964346&sr=8-2&keywords=RF-PRO+Rapid+Fire+Flash+Bracket&linkCode=ll1&tag=dpsgeneral-20&linkId=9888dc1c08faaa313bde9586da5de20e

You will need a TTL off-camera flash cord which will provide the full function of your camera flash communication. Of course, you will need to get one that is compatible with your camera model.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Camera-Flash-Speedlite-Canon/dp/B00YUAMMU2/ref=dp_fod_sccl_1/133-0349273-0771021?pd_rd_i=B00YUAMMU2&psc=1

My recommendation would be to make a flash diffuser from a large cottage cheese, sour cream, or any other item of that size and try it on your flash "as is". Use any lens including a macro lens and take a few shots to see how it works for you before investing in any accessories. The AK diffuser is great and I have one among many other diffusers that I use. One thing to consider is that the AK diffuser is basically a macro diffuser whereas the container diffuser can be used for all flash photography as a softbox diffuser. Hey...why not have an AK and a container diffuser?

Enjoy what you can, whenever you can. Here are a few that I made in my journey and adventures in macro flash diffusers.

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LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

Thank you so much for this master class! Can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. Liam